The present invention relates to a cranial wrap, and more particularly, to a cranial wrap which incorporate bladders, and which are adapted for use in a thermal or contrast therapy system, or medical thermal therapy system. The bladder element of the present invention enables the user to obtain a tightly controlled and consistent temperature or contrast therapy, along with support, pressure and/or compression therapy.
Head injuries may be extremely painful and are prone to excessive swelling. Likewise, neck injuries are often greatly debilitating, as well as painful. Contrast therapy has been shown to be an effective method for treatment of injuries such as those that often occur in the head and neck regions. Healing time for such injuries may be reduced, and the pain associated with the injury may likewise be minimized with proper temperature therapy.
In addition to treating head and neck injuries, temperature therapy has been known to be an effective treatment for a host of other head pains, including headaches. Migraine headaches, tension headaches and cluster headaches are three popular primary varieties of headaches. Tension headaches and cluster headaches focus along the frontal lobe or above the eyes. Migraine pain may be centered more in the occipital lobe or the back of the head.
Migraines affect roughly 12-20% of all individuals at some point in their lives. Unlike a traditional headache, the Migraine disease has many symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, auras (light spots), sensitivity to light and sound, numbness, difficulty in speech, and severe semi-hemispherical head pain. One Migraine attack alone can last for eight hours, several days, or even weeks.
Moreover, a migraine may induce a host of serious physical conditions such as strokes, aneurysms, permanent visual loss, severe dental problems, coma and even death. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, a migraine can sometimes lead to ischemic stroke and stroke can sometimes be aggravated by or associated with the development of migraine. Twenty-seven percent of all strokes suffered by persons under the age of 45 are caused by Migraine. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in this country. In addition, twenty-five percent of all incidents of cerebral infarction were associated with Migraines, according to the Mayo clinic.
Not only can the Migraine disease be life threatening, but it can have a devastating and disruptive effect on normal living. Migraine sufferers experience not only excruciating pain, but social ostracism, job loss, disruption to personal relationships, and prejudices in the workplace.
A recent study showed that the loss of labor time and lost productivity of Migraine sufferers may exact a significant toll on U.S. business. According to a position paper signed by the American Academy of Pain Medicine, et. al., 150 million work days per year, equivalent to 1,200 million work hours, are lost each year to head pain. The corresponding annual cost to industry and the health care system due to Migraine amounts to $5 to $17 billion.
The root cause of migraines has not been readily identified, thus it is common for physicians to prescribe potentially addictive and powerful pain relievers, such as Vicodin®, to individuals that experience frequent migraine headaches.
It is known, however, that the pain resulting from a migraine is caused by vasodilatation in the cranial blood vessels (expansion of the blood vessels). Traditional headache pain is caused by vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels). During a migraine, inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain, i.e., neurogenic inflammation, exacerbates the pain. Therefore, medicine often prescribed to treat a headache, such as beta-blockers, dilate the blood vessels and therefore can make a Migraine even worse.
It has been found that temperature regulation around the neck and cranium may be as, if not more, effective in migraine treatment as traditional pharmaceuticals.
Numerous thermal therapy devices that apply external treatments to the body are known in the art. Thermal or contrast therapy devices deliver or remove heat to a given therapy area for an effective amount of time in order to achieve a desired therapeutic result. Contrast therapy devices are used to reduce swelling or to encourage healing after swelling has receded. They are also used to soothe muscle and joint pain through the application of heat and compression therapy. Application of heat or cold may be used to heal and rehabilitate injuries to bone, muscle, ligaments, tendons and skin. Cold therapy may be used to reduce swelling, decrease pain, and promote healing of injured tissue. Heat therapy can be used to relax joint tissue, such as ligaments and tendons, to increase range of motion. Thermal therapy can also be used after surgery to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing.
Lastly, dependent upon pain source, it may be desirous to apply heat alone, cold alone or some combination of the two. For example, migraine pain resulting from vasodilatation may be best treated with a cold treatment. Whereas a tension headache, which includes vasoconstriction, may be best treated by a hot therapy. Lastly, a neck injury, such as a pulled ligament, may be best treated with a contrast therapy. Currently, there is a lack of systems capable of providing such a range or highly controlled temperature treatments to the cranium and neck.
The potential effectiveness of a hot or cold treatment increases as the level of control for the treatment increases. In particular, the effectiveness depends on the ability to control the temperature of the treatment. If cold treatments are too cold, they may cause skin and tissue damage. Similarly, if hot treatments are too hot, they may burn or otherwise damage the recipient. The effectiveness of a therapy also is dependent on the ease in which the therapy may be applied. If it is difficult for a therapy recipient to self apply a therapy, the opportunity to receive therapy may be diminished. Furthermore, if therapies are complicated and/or uncomfortable, a therapy recipient is less likely to undergo the therapy, although it may be beneficial.
Due to the shape of the head, it is often cumbersome to apply external temperature regulators to the head and neck for a prolonged period of time in a comfortable fashion. Cold compresses, the most common form of cranial temperature regulation, are atrocious at maintaining constant temperature and are burdensome to apply, as they often leak and typically require the user to lie down or manually hold the compress to the desired area. Likewise, compresses are typically applied to the forehead, or other localized area of the cranium, and as such, are incapable of targeting a range of therapeutic points.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for an improved cranial wrap that is capable of contrast and stable temperature therapy. This cranial wrap would be able to provide neck support with the addition of a thermal therapy that may be very well regulated and applied to the entire cranium and neck regions.